The Easiest Way in Housekeeping and Cooking eBook

This may seem a digression; and yet, in the very outset,
it is necessary to place this work upon the right
footing, and to impress with all possible earnestness
the fact, that Household Science holds every other
science in tribute, and that only that home which starts
with this admission and builds upon the best foundation
the best that thought can furnish, has any right to
the name of “home.” The swarms of
drunkards, of idiots, of insane, of deaf and dumb,
owe their existence to an ignorance of the laws of
right living, which is simply criminal, and for which
we must be judged; and no word can be too earnest,
which opens the young girl’s eyes to the fact
that in her hands lie not alone her own or her husband’s
future, but the future of the nation. It is hard
to see beyond one’s own circle; but if light
is sought for, and there is steady resolve and patient
effort to do the best for one’s individual self,
and those nearest one, it will be found that the shadow
passes, and that progress is an appreciable thing.

Begin in your own home. Study to make it not
only beautiful, but perfectly appointed. If your
own hands must do the work, learn every method of
economizing time and strength. If you have servants,
whether one or more, let the same laws rule.
It is not easy, I admit; no good thing is: but
there is infinite reward for every effort. Let
no failure discourage, but let each one be only a
fresh round in the ladder all must climb who would
do worthy work; and be sure that the end will reward
all pain, all self-sacrifice, and make you truly the
mistresses of the home for which every woman naturally
and rightfully hopes, but which is never truly hers
till every shade of detail in its administration has
been mastered.

The house, then, is the first element of home to be
considered and studied; and we have settled certain
points as to location and arrangement. This is
no hand-book of plans for houses, that ground being
thoroughly covered in various books,—­the
titles of two or three of which are given in a list
of reference-books at the end. But, whether you
build or buy, see to it that your kitchens and working-rooms
are well lighted, well aired, and of good size, and
that in the arrangement of the kitchen especially,
the utmost convenience becomes the chief end.
Let sink, pantries, stove or range, and working-space
for all operations in cooking, be close at hand.
The difference between a pantry at the opposite end
of the room, and one opening close to the sink, for
instance, may seem a small matter; but when it comes
to walking across the room with every dish that is
washed, the steps soon count up as miles, and in making
even a loaf of bread, the time and strength expended
in gathering materials together would go far toward
the thorough kneading, which, when added to the previous
exertion, makes the whole operation, which might have
been only a pleasure, a burden and an annoyance.